


Grease is the Word

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Category: Jersey Boys - Gaudio/Crewe/Brickman/Elice
Genre: 1950s, 1956, Adorable, Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Greaser Frankie, Greasers, High School, M/M, Tommy is kind of a dick, Why are these two so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:16:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4496760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frankie, Tommy, and Nick are greasers and rulers of the school. In comes Robert "Don't Call Me Bobby" Gaudio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grease is the Word

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this hit us like a ton of bricks and just refused to let go. The exact words used by tomatopudding were that "my muse punched me in the brain with fic." We've been working on it for way too long and now it's finally done. We've been hardcore Frankie/Bob (or as we call it Bobbie) shippers since we first saw the show and we've been itching to add to the pairing on here. There definitely is not enough.
> 
> So, without further ado, here's the high school AU you didn't know you needed.

It had been a particularly hot summer for New Jersey, which made the beginning of the school year even more unbearable than usual. Days in swimsuits gave way to fully covered bodies and, for the unlucky few, school uniforms. Nights at the drive-in became filled with textbooks and term papers. School cliques, which often disintegrated in the joyous freedom of summer came back in full force. It certainly didn’t help that the summer heat hadn’t abated and, in the case of East Side High School, the air conditioning wasn’t working.

Francis Castelluccio, known to his friends as Frankie, re-rolled the sleeves of his black t-shirt more tightly and wicked some sweat away from the back of his neck, careful not to to get his fingers into his painstakingly coiffed hair. Tommy DeVito, in his customary seat directly behind him, jostled Frankie’s chair with his foot, simply grinning when Frankie turned to glare at him.

"Will you knock it off?" Frankie snapped as Tommy turned away, trying to pull an innocent face.

Tommy stuck his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout, “Aw, Frankie, you’re so mean to me.”

Frankie twisted in his seat so that he could give Tommy a smack when a sigh interrupted him. Nick Macioci, the third member of their group, was the perpetrator and rolled his eyes.

“Children, behave.”

Nick had one of those lower voices, even at nineteen and still a senior due to having been held back a year, that rumbled in a way that reminded Frankie of a big freight train. In a way, Nick was like one of those trains, a little slow to start but reliable.

Tommy and Nick had been friends for a long time, having grown up on the same block. They had originally met because their parents had wanted Nick to be friends with Tommy’s older brother, also called Nick funnily enough. The two Nicks had been friendly, but not overly so despite being in the same year at school. When Nick Macioci was held back a year in middle school, his tenuous friendship with Nick DeVito had broken as he had opted to hang with Tommy instead. They had met Frankie when he entered high school with them after having been at a different middle school. Tommy had immediately taken a liking to the younger boy and had taken him under his wing, tutoring him in his ways. From then on out they were inseparable. For years it was just the three of them. They were more or less the top dogs in the school, a turn of events that had come in their junior year when the previous greaser clique had graduated. Tommy relished this and used it to his advantage, a different girl on his arm every week, while Frankie seemed to find the attention of the female population embarrassing half the time--particularly since they all insisted on calling him cute because of his short stature, he wasn’t cute he was compact--and Nick was completely indifferent, which made the girls want him all the more.

It was in their homeroom where they basically had their “court,” sitting in the back with other students surrounding them to hear of their latest escapades. They would keep this up until the teacher walked in and forced everyone to sit down. This being the first day of the new school year, however, court was currently suspended as everyone had been spending time together over the summer anyway. The popular girls were grouped together around Tommy’s latest conquest as she relayed their private escapades. The poor girl didn’t know that Tommy already had his eye on someone else in the year below them and that she would be getting the boot soon enough.

Not all of their classmates were fans of them and how much of a grip they had on their classmates. The jocks were bitter that they weren’t more popular and spent time cracking their knuckles menacingly in their direction, while the nerds envied them and loathed them in equal measures. While not a gang in the traditional sense they did tend to keep to themselves and were exclusive as to who they extended their friendship towards. There had been a few trial runs for new members, but ultimately the chemistry between the three of them was a such that others often felt put out. No one ever expected that to change, and especially not the way that it did. No one could have guessed what would happen when their teacher Mrs. Grott walked in with someone new.

Mrs. Grott, whom everyone called The Grouch behind her back, wasn’t particularly fond of teaching anymore, but she had tenure and teaching was the only way she made money after her husband’s death. She was considered to be the best teacher to have for homeroom, since she never actually did anything, even though the class was theoretically supposed to include daily announcements and reminders, among other things. The Grouch’s homeroom class gave you the opportunity to spend the first thirty minutes of the day chatting with your friends before going to any actual classes. On that first day, when Mrs. Grott entered the room, she was accompanied by a boy. He was rather tall and skinny, and looked a little nervous, immediately everyone’s attention was drawn to him, after all who transfers in your senior year? With one look, it was easy to tell which clique he would probably fit in with. The new kid was wearing khakis that looked like they were pressed and a sweater vest over a button down shirt. That, along with his perfectly parted and slicked down hair placed him squarely on the prudish side on things.

“Quiet,” Mrs. Grott commanded, the classroom settled down, “now class this is-” she turned back to the boy, “what did you say your name was?”

“Gaudio,” the boy murmured, “Robert Gaudio.”

“Robert Gaudio,” Mrs. Grott repeated so that the rest of the class could hear, “now go and take a seat.”

Robert quickly did as he was told and sat in one of the few empty seats near the front of the classroom. Just like everything was as it was before, but there were definitely more than a few whispers flitting around about Robert Gaudio.

“What do you make of him Tommy?” Frankie asked.

“Looks like one of them pansy types of you ask me,” Tommy smirked, “not something we need to waste our time with.”

Frankie leaned back in his chair looking back at the new kid briefly before turning back to his friends. Back at the front of the room Robert fidgeted with his pencil nervously, he wasn’t quite sure who he should talk to or what was supposed to be happening.

“So where did you come from?”

Robert looked around in surprise to see that the girl who was sitting to the left of him and decided to speak up. “Oh I… Uhh..” he was stumbling over his words, “I’m from the Bronx, in New York.”

The girl’s eyes widened, “You’re from the City? That’s so cool!”

Robert’s cheeks colored, “I guess.”

“I’m Celia,” the girl then proceeded to introduce herself.

“Robert,” he introduced himself to her again.

“So why did you come to Newark?” Celia leaned her elbow on the side of her desk.

“Oh I,” Robert began, “well we had to move because my dad, he just got promoted, so they moved him out here to head up a project,” he explained, it surprised him just how interested Celia seemed to be, “so we packed up and moved out here.”

“What’s your dad do?” Celia continued.

“Oh, well he’s in advertising,” Robert replied. He was still confused as to what was supposed to be happening. At his old school in New York, the homeroom period was never this inactive. Everyone was just chattering to each other while the teacher sat at her desk, bored, “I’m sorry, but is something supposed to be happening?”

Celia laughed, “Don’t worry about it. Mrs. Grott never does anything during homeroom.”

That made Robert nervous. He liked structure and it already seemed like the New Jersey school system was much more of a mess than New York’s. It was bad enough that he had to move to a new school, let alone a new state, for his last year of high school, but he really didn’t want to get behind and have to repeat the grade because of teacher incompetence.

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Mrs. Grott intoned a few minutes before the end of class bell was set to ring, pulling out a slip of paper, “Don’t forget that college applications are due soon and check with a guidance counselor to make sure that you will be allowed to graduate in the spring. Lunch today is turkey pastrami.”

Just then, the bell rang shrilly and the class was filled with a flurry of movement and students packed up their bags and left in a rush, continuing the conversations they’d been having just a few moments before. As the room quickly emptied, Robert’s nervousness arose. He had a schedule, but no idea how to find his classroom. He got up from his desk and he followed everyone out the door and as he walked down the hall he kept glancing around at the room numbers to find his next class. This proved difficult with the large number of people who were packed in the hallway and walking quickly as they already knew exactly where they were going. It was just like being a freshman all over again.

“Hey, new kid, ya lost?”

Robert spun around to see one of the kids from his homeroom. He was slightly shorter with his dark brown hair styled in a pompadour. His clothing marked him as a greaser and, Robert couldn’t help but notice, he was quite handsome.

“Yes,” he all but whispered, then cleared his throat and tried again, “Yes, I have no idea where I’m supposed to go.”

The greaser chuckled and snagged Robert’s schedule from his hand before he could protest, “Let’s see...calculus? Aren’t you smart.”

Robert’s ears reddened in embarrassment, “I suppose.”

“Down the hall, turn left and you’ll find it,” the greaser told him.

“Thanks,” replied Robert, “I’m Robert.”

The greaser grinned, “Yeah, I know.”

“Right,” Robert mumbled, the blush spreading to his cheeks.

The greaser pushed Robert’s schedule into his chest and he scrambled to get a hand on it before it could flutter to the floor.

“Frankie.”

With that, the greaser--Frankie, Robert corrected himself--spun on his heel and sauntered away to join two other greasers and the trio walked away in tandem. Robert watched after them for a moment until the warning bell rang, causing him to jump. He began to walk in the direction that Frankie had pointed out to him, his schedule still clutched in his chest.

\--------------------

Ever since freshman year when the three of them became a group, Frankie, Tommy, Nick always had a party several weeks into the school year. It had just been the three of them at first, but it seemed to grow every year and now a majority of their class would squeeze into Nick’s basement armed with whatever they could sneak away from their parents’ alcohol stashes. Nick’s parents never cared what he did and paid no heed to the slew of teenagers that crowded in their basement, choosing instead to zone out in front of their brand new television watching the Ed Sullivan Show.

This year was going to be the best party they had ever thrown in honor of finally reaching the last year of their schooling, celebrating the only way they knew how. Tommy was usually a top provider for booze. His father was known to be a drunk and kept bottles in various places around the house that he thought were hidden, but that Tommy could discover in a single afternoon. Secretly, Frankie thought that bringing this booze to their parties was Tommy’s way of trying to help his father get off the stuff, not that Tommy would ever admit to an act of love like that. Nick always lugged his phonograph down the stairs and there was never a shortage of records to play due to Frankie’s mother’s large collection.

Celia Jones was the most beautiful girl in their class and Tommy had been after her for years. Every year he invited her to their party and every year she declined, usually with a slap because of Tommy’s crass attitude. Despite this every year, before their beginning and end of the year parties, Tommy always promised that Celia would be there this time. After the first couple times, Nick and Frankie had taken to just rolling their eyes at each other and wishing Tommy luck in his fruitless endeavor.

This year, Tommy decided to try a different tactic than his usual cornering technique.

“Hey, Celia.”

He stopped her outside of homeroom on Monday morning the third week of school.

Celia regarded him coolly, “What is it, DeVito.”

“Geeze,” Tommy muttered, “Look, I know that you don’t usually come to our parties, but it’s senior year.”

He braced himself, waiting for the seemingly inevitable slap that was sure to come, despite his politeness, but it never did.

“Alright.”

Tommy opened his eyes, “Really?”

“On one condition,” continued Celia.

“Anything,” promised Tommy.

“You have to invite Bob too.”

Tommy frowned, “Bob? Oh, the new kid. Seriously?”

“That’s my condition,” Celia replied primly, “if I hear from Bob that you’ve invited him, then I’ll come to you party.”

“No problem,” Tommy replied, then grinned suavely, “So, what do I have to do to get a kiss?”

That’s when she slapped him. Tommy rubbed his cheek as he watched her flounce off, “Worth it.”

\--------------------

The end of the day bell cued the mad rush to get away from the school as soon as possible. The nearby diner offered a discount on french fries for the first hour after the end of the school day, so those who had cars rushed to get there and those who didn’t rushed to get rides with those who did. Robert usually held back, allowing the other students to leave first. French fries were never on the top of his to-do list. He usually spent the first hour after class in the school library, a favorite spot of his to get away from the noise of his fellow teenagers. It was the only place that offered him complete silence. On that Monday, he was making his way to the library, the book he needed to return tucked under his arm and humming under his breath. He returned the book into the librarian’s, Ms. Warren, waiting hands, exchanging a small smile as she traded it for a book he had asked her to find on his previous visit. Robert settled at his favorite table in the far corner of the library, near the encyclopedias, to read.

A throat clearing drew him out of the biography he was reading and he looked up to see Tommy DeVito towering over him. Robert hadn’t had much interaction with him. He knew that Tommy was one of Frankie’s friends. Frankie, who had helped him find his class on his first day and seemed to just show up everywhere, but who had only talked to him a handful of times.

“So, Bobby, can I call you Bobby,” Tommy began.

“No,” Robert interrupted, then colored slightly when Tommy just stared at him, “I don’t go by Bobby. Just Bob. Or Robert is fine too.”

“Right,” Tommy said after a brief moment, “Bob. Listen, the boys and I throw this party every year and I wanted to invite you,” there was another pause, “So here I am, inviting you or whatever.”

From her desk, Ms. Warren hushed him, a finger pressed to her lips.

“Um, thanks?”

Robert looked at him, confused.

“Look, it’s next Saturday at Nick’s place,” Tommy burst out, suddenly angry, “Come or don’t, I don’t care.”

“Mister DeVito,” Ms. Warren scolded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” muttered Tommy, sticking his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and slouching away.

Robert hesitated before turning back to his book, although he was now distracted with thoughts of this party. What was a guy like Tommy inviting him to a party for? It didn’t seem to make much sense. But besides that, would he even go to the party? That was another really good question. He sighed as he leaned back into his chair in thought about it some more. It was rare even in New York that he would have been invited to parties, Robert just wasn’t much of the partying type.

Maybe Frankie will be there? Robert thought to himself, he then quickly shook his head and blinked. What was that all about? He frowned, there was no way in hell he was going to get any reading done now. He packed up his books, slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the library to go home.

\--------------------

“Mom I’m home!” Robert called out as he walked through the door.

“Ducky, you’re home early,” His mother commented as she went to greet him, she kissed him on the cheek.

Robert brushed away where she had kissed him, “Mom,” he sighed as he put down his book bag.

“So how was school today?” She asked as she perched herself on the arm of a nearby chair.

“Good,” Robert shrugged his shoulders, “same as usual, except I did get invited to a party-”

“Really now?” His mother smiled, “Are you going?”

“I’m not sure,” He sighed.

“Why not?” His mother frowned, “I think it might be good for you, to get together with some kids your age-”

“I know,” Robert replied, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about Tommy and his invitation to the party.

“Well you should think about it okay honey?” She smiled, “now I’m going to go finish dinner before your father gets home.”

Robert nodded his head and went to go work on his homework while thinking over whether or not he would go or not. It really should not be this hard for him to choose, should it?

\--------------------

When Robert’s mother called him down to dinner, he was still quite undecided about whether to go to the party. While he'd given it some thought when working on his homework he still was on the fence. Every time he decided that he wasn't going to go part of him nagged him that he was hoping to see Frankie at the party. With a sigh he went to the table where his mother was bringing out the dishes and his father was sitting there reading the evening post.

“Hi dad,” said Robert, causing his father to look up and smile, “Good day at work?”

“Not too bad,” Mr. Gaudio responded, “School?”

Robert shrugged.

“Robby was invited to a party,” his mother informed, placing the roast in front of her husband to be carved.

Mr. Gaudio lowered his paper, "Really now? Who invited you?"

"Just a guy in my class," Robert said with a shrug.

“Well,” his father said, finally setting aside the paper and picking up the knife to slice the roast as Mrs. Gaudio brought out the final dishes.

“Well,” agreed Robert.

Family dinners in the Gaudio household were usually rather quiet affairs. Mrs. Gaudio was a fabulous cook and the men in the family tended to like to just savor the food in front of them. Robert didn’t mind the silence of his family dinners, it gave him time to compose in his head. But today, there were other thoughts on his mind.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Mrs. Gaudio said as she turned to her son, it was clear that she had noticed something was wrong.

Robert snapped from his reverie, putting down his knife and fork, “I’m just thinking about this whole party thing.”

Mr. Gaudio nodded sagely, “Trying to decide if you want to go.”

“Exactly,” replied Robert, “my classmate, the one who invited me, he’s,” Robert struggled to find the right words, “popular and I’m,” he stopped again and sighed, “me.”

"Clearly he thought about inviting you," his mother pointed out.

“I suppose,” Robert said, “but that’s what makes it so strange. He never really talked to me before. His friends didn’t either.”

Except for one, Robert thought, willing himself not to blush when he thought of Frankie. He really had to get this under control.

“This could be his way of him asking you to be friends with him,” his mother suggested, Robert doubted this but didn’t say so, Tommy didn’t seem like that kind of a guy. Besides he seemed perfectly happy with his tight knit group of friends without Robert getting involved and screwing everything up. Or at least that was how he viewed it. But the way his mother was looked at him so expectantly, he could never say no to that look. Robert sighed.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go.”

“That’s the spirit, son,” Mr. Gaudio said, “Tell you what, you can borrow the car.”

“Really?”

One of the plus sides of moving to New Jersey was the car. In New York, they always took the subway everywhere. One of the first things his father had done was teach him to drive and Robert loved doing it. But his father needed the car to get to work so it was seldom that Robert actually was able to take it and use it himself.That alone was almost enough of a reason to go to the party.

“Thank you!”

Robert happily dug into the rest of his meal.

\--------------------

Robert pulled the car to a halt across the street from Nick’s house, his fingers hovering over the keys, but not cutting the engine yet. Nobody would miss him if he didn’t go in, he was sure. He’s only promised Celia that he would think about going, not that he would be there. He could just go home, tell his parents that he’d changed his mind. Robert sighed and turned off the car. He could imagine how disappointed his mother would be if he didn’t even try and he didn’t think that he could survive that. Even in his imagination, his mother could guilt trip him into anything. Steeling himself, he made his way to the front door of the dilapidated home. He was just about to know on the door when it swung open to reveal the person Robert was most worried about seeing.

Frankie paused, grinning as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Bobby,” he said happily, “I thought Tommy was lying when he said he’d invited you.”

Robert’s usual protest to that loathed nickname died in his throat when he was faced with Frankie’s grin and all he managed to squeak out was, “Nope.”

Frankie chuckled and gestured with his head, “C’mon in, the party’s just getting started.”

The basement was fairly dim and filled with a mixture of voices and music. He got a small noise of warning before Celia practically pounced on him, the smell of alcohol obvious on her breath.

“Bob! You came!”

“‘Course he did,” interjected Tommy, throwing an arm around Robert’s shoulders and leading him towards a table in the back of the room where various liquor bottles stood lined up.

“What’s your poison?”

“Oh, I don’t really--” Robert managed, but Tommy obviously wasn’t listening.

“Whiskey, great choice.”

The small glass was pushed into his hand and Tommy was off again, leaving Robert alone. He took a sip of the drink and grimaced at the taste.

Tommy, meanwhile, was planning. He wasn’t a vindictive person, not really anyway, but he’d seen that look in Bob’s eyes when he had been walking in with Frankie. It was a look he had seen directed at himself any number of times and it was always a sign to let the girl down gently before she got too attached. He was just going to have some fun, Tommy told himself, harmless fun.

There were some traditions at these parties that had been a part of the ritual since the first one and Tommy called the room to order so that they could indulge in one of his favorite ones.

Robert found himself being dragged to the forming circle by Celia and plopping down to the floor with the rest of the giggling crowd. Frankie sat on his other side and half of Robert was thrilled while the other half was terrified. He’d played truth or dare before, but he’d always thought it was more of a kids game, so he was surprised when it was the game that Nick started.

It was amazing the things that people would do when it was part of a silly game and Robert found himself relaxing, even without the assistance of alcohol until, that is, his name came up.

“Frankie, I dare you to serenade Bob.”

Even without having seen his face, Robert could tell that Tommy was smirking. Robert felt his spine stiffen and the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably.

“Cut it out, DeVito,” Frankie said with a laugh.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, “Is that a forfeit?”

Robert saw Frankie’s eyes harden and his eyebrows draw down into a frown. A forfeit meant taking a shot of every liquor on the back table mixed together in a disgusting, alcoholic mess.

Frankie turned to Robert and held out his hands, “Alright, Bobby?”

Robert’s spine stiffened even more and he eyes Frankie’s hands warily.

“I won’t bite.”

Robert carefully placed his hands in Frankie’s and felt warm fingers close around them. Startled, he looked up and was caught by Frankie’s gaze. Gone was the steeled, cocky expression he usually wore around school, replaced by a soft, sweet look that he almost believed was real. His heart was beating so loudly in his ears that Robert almost missed the first notes.

He recognized the song almost immediately--”I’m in the Mood for Love” was one of his mother’s favorite Jimmy McHugh records--but he’d never heard it sung like that before. Frankie’s voice was high, bright, and clear, absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. It was only the cheers and laughter of the others that brought Robert out of his reverie when the song was over. He knew that he’d been staring, completely entranced and blushing to to the roots of his hair. he felt like the laughter was directed at him, saw the way Frankie’s eyes hardened again, and suddenly felt very exposed.

He muttered some sort of excuse and rose, wrenching his hands from Frankie’s grip as he went, ignoring Celia calling after him as he all but ran up the stairs. He didn’t notice Frankie’s worried gaze following him.

\---------------------

Frankie was supposed to be in homeroom, but he couldn’t be bothered today. He’d only gone because he wanted to talk to Robert, but the other boy hadn’t been there, so Frankie left. It wasn’t like Mrs. Grott cared anyway. He was meandering down the hall, hands deep in his pockets, when he heard it coming from one of the music rooms.

The voice was one that sounded familiar and was accompanied by a piano part that begged to be replicated by voices. He stopped at the music room door and was pleasantly surprised when he saw Robert sitting at the upright piano, his long fingers pressing the keys with confidence.

Frankie couldn’t help it, when that rhythmic piano part came in between the lyrics, he harmonized easily with it, choosing random words that fit with the song. Robert stopped immediately, spinning around on the round stool to stare at Frankie with wide eyes.

“Come to humiliate me again?” Robert asked, but his tone was soft rather than scathing.

“I’m sorry about Tommy,” Frankie said, “He gets a bit carried away. I did give him a piece of my mind once everyone had gone.”

“I don’t need you to defend me like some damsel in distress,” Robert told him, belying his grateful expression.

Frankie shrugged, “Wasn’t all for you, Bobby. Made me come off as kind of a dick, and that’s not me.”

“I usually don’t like that.”

“What?”

“Being called Bobby,” Robert replied, lifting his eyes to Frankie’s.

“I can stop.”

“No! I mean, I don’t really mind.”

“What’re you playing?” Frankie asked, stepping further into the room and seeing that the music on the piano was hand written on hand-drawn staves, “Never heard it before.”

“It’s one of mine,” Robert said, eyes alight, “I’ve been working on it for a couple weeks.”

“You write music,” Frankie stated rather than asked, drawing closer and peering over Robert’s shoulder, seeing the other boy blush at the proximity.

He grinned when he saw the scribblings, “Ah ha, so it is written for a group of voices.”

Robert smiled back, “Yeah. Thanks for coming up with the words for me,” he penciled in the lyrics Frankie had created.

“From the top?” Frankie asked, looking at Robert from the corner of his eye, loving the way the embarrassed blush turned into a pleased flush.

Robert began at the beginning of his piece and they sang together, voices entwining.

\---------------------

Tommy didn’t really know what he thought would happen if the new kid showed up to the party, but he certainly hadn’t expected this. When Robert had run out, Tommy was sure that was the last they were going to see of the square. It seemed, however, that the opposite was true. Something had happened between the two of them and suddenly Frankie was started every other sentence with “Bobby said” this and “Bobby did” that and “Did you know that Bobby” blah, blah, blah. It was really starting to grate on Tommy’s nerves. Almost as annoying as Frankie’s yammering about Bobby the Wonder Boy was the fact that Nick didn’t even seem to care that Robert started showing up constantly at Frankie’s side, like an imprinting duckling.

“Give it a rest, Tommy,” Nick grumbled one day, “He’s a good kid.”

“Exactly,” Tommy retorted, “He’s _good_. You’d think that sun shines out of his ass, the way that Frankie goes on.”

“Oh, shut up,” groaned Nick, putting his head in his hands, “you’re giving me a headache.”

"It just makes no sense!" Tommy slammed his hand against the table, "shit!" He muttered as he shook out his hand.

"Now see what you've done?" Nick glanced at him, "you've gone and hurt yourself."

Things probably would have gone on this way if Tommy had never heard any of Robert’s songs. He almost didn’t, as Robert kept his composing close and didn’t go around the hallways mouthing off about it. It was sheer luck that Tommy saw the sheet music peeking out of the zipper of Robert school bag and that it was in his nature to snatch it and draw it out into the open.

“Hey!” Robert protested.

“Cry For Me,” Tommy read, his eyes flicking down the page, “What’s this, some sappy love song?”

Robert carefully snagged the sheet music from Tommy’s hands and smoothed it, “Careful, this is my only copy.”

By some chance, the two of them were alone, waiting in their booth at the diner as Frankie slipped into the drugstore next door to pick up something for his mother and Nick slipped outside to grab a cigarette.

"Aren't you gonna share?" Tommy prodded, "it's not nice to keep secrets from your friends."

"I don't think this is really any of your business," Robert glanced at Tommy who kept trying to get a look at the sheet music.

“Come on, Bobby,” Tommy wheedled.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Oh, so only Frankie’s allowed to call you Bobby,” Tommy shot back, smirking when he saw the way Robert flushed. He let out a bark of laughter, “Now you have to show me.”

“How do you figure that,” snapped Robert.

“It’s the rules,” Tommy said solemnly.

“Who’s rules?”

“Hey, I just follow them.”

Robert studied Tommy, his eyes narrowed. He must have seen something in Tommy’s face that told him he wouldn’t win this battle. Robert sighed.

“It's just a song I wrote,” he mumbled, “Frankie’s been helping me with it.”

“Go on then,” said Tommy, “Give us a little warble, songbird.”

Robert did. Tommy tried not to let the awe show. The song was good, even if it felt a bit bereft without an accompaniment.

“Is that the new version?”

Robert stopped singing abruptly when Frankie slid onto the other bench, Nick beside him.

“Oh,” Robert said, “Yeah. I tweaked the words a bit. Added a coda.”

Tommy studied Robert unabashedly, but the other boy barely noticed, nattering on about music with his eyes locked on Frankie.

Maybe, Tommy thought, the kid wasn’t too bad.

\---------------------

The stuffed-sounding honk of Frankie’s Ford Tudor’s horn brought a huge grin to Robert’s face. His parents looked up from their dinners as he put his silverware down and rose.

“Robert?” his father asked, a slight warning in his voice.

“It’s just the guys,” Robert said, slipping on his jacket, “we’re going to the drive-in.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve barely touched your supper,” Mrs. Gaudio said, “can’t your friends come in for a few minutes.”

“We’ll probably have popcorn at the movie, Ma, I’ll be fine.”

Robert leaned down to place a kiss on his mother’s cheek and waved as he almost ran out the door. Back in New York, nobody had ever invited him out to see a movie, or any other social event. He had been much more excited than he’s let on when Frankie had asked him to join them that night.

When Robert approached the car, he was surprised to see that only Frankie was there.

“The others aren’t coming?” Robert asked, slipping into the passenger seat.

He wasn’t as close with the other two as he was with Frankie. Something about Tommy just rubbed him the wrong way and he’d never really been able to figure out what to make of Nick, despite having known him for several months.

“Not tonight,” replied Frankie, pulling away from the curb.

Robert suddenly felt much more nervous than he had only a few minutes before. Spending time with Frankie in a group was one thing, but considering his evolving feelings for the other boy, an evening one on one seemed much more daunting.

\---------------------

Despite the change in the people involved, there wasn’t any adjustment in their plans. They chatted casually as Frankie drove them a little ways out of the city to where the drive in was located and turned into the drive. There was a large number of other cars filled with kids from their school. Frankie drove up to the window to get their tickets.

“What are we seeing?” Robert asked.

“This new horror flick,” Frankie replied, “they call it _Invasion of the Bodysnatchers_.”

Robert had never been one for scary movies, he never really saw the appeal of being scared out of your mind just for the fun of it. But he was already here, and it wasn't like they were showing anything else.

“Sounds great,” he replied quietly, trying to sound even slightly excited. Robert then went to get his wallet to pay for his ticket.

Frankie put out his hand to stop him, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got you covered.”

“No, you don’t need to do that,” Robert protested, “I’ve got the money-”

“Bobby,” Frankie said with a smile, closing Robert’s hand around his wallet.

Robert’s protest died on his lips and he put his wallet away. It felt strange, allowing Frankie to pay for him, but he knew that it was a fight he wouldn’t win. With their admission paid, Frankie pulled the car into a spot squarely in front of the screen.

“You want something from the snack bar?” Frankie asked, “I figured we’d go to that one diner that’s open all day, ya know? But that won’t be for a while.”

“That’s alright,” Robert responded. Truthfully, he was already pretty hungry and, of course, his stomach chose that moment to rumble.

Frankie chuckled, “I’ll get us some popcorn.”

He slid out of the car before Robert could protest, hand brushing across his palm. Robert took a deep, shuddering breath. The prospect of seeing a scary movie was daunting enough as it is, but doing it with Frankie and knowing that he’d embarrass himself in front of the other boy was even more so. At least Tommy wasn’t there, Robert thought, he would never hear the end of it if Tommy knew how easily he was scared. He jumped slightly when Frankie opened the door, but quickly calmed down. The bucket of popcorn that Frankie shoved into his hands was large enough to feed even Tommy.

“Did you leave any for the rest of the people?” Robert joked.

“Just barely,” Frankie replied, he then rolled down the window, opened the door slightly so that he could reach out and grab the speaker that he attached to the car, “there, now it will be like we’re right there with all the action!”

Robert smiled weakly, he was not exactly thrilled with the prospect but for the moment the only sound that was being piped was the cheerful jingle about concessions. “So do you have any idea of what this movie is about?”

Frankie shook his head, “Nah, it’ll be more exciting this way,” he then paused, “hey Bobby you alright?”

Embarrassed at being caught out and by how well Frankie could read him, Robert let out a nervous laugh, “I’ve never really been a huge fan of scary movies.”

“That’s alright, you can hold my hand if you get scared,” Frankie teased.

Robert was caught between being grateful for the offer, being angry at Frankie for thinking he couldn’t take care of himself, and being embarrassed about the fact that he really wouldn’t mind holding Frankie’s hand. That last thought was pushed away as quickly as it came.

“That’s...that's not,” Robert frowned, “don’t be a jerk, Frankie.”

“I’m not.”

Before Robert could even process the sincerity of that remark, the concession jingle faded into nothing and the movie began.

The movie started in some sort of hospital and there was already screaming that practically made Robert leap from his seat. Once it was over he sank back down hoping that Frankie hadn’t seen his little acrobatic display. But there from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t be sure but it seemed like Frankie was smiling slightly. When the film finally ended, Robert had sunk back into the seat. He was surprised to find that he could feel Frankie’s arm resting against the back of his neck.

“That was pretty damn cool,” Frankie enthused, grinning.

“Oh, yeah. Cool,” muttered Robert.

Frankie paused, looking at Robert from the corner of his eyes, “You hated it, didn’t you.”

“Yes.”

Frankie laughed, “Come on, let’s get a burger. Popcorn may be delicious, but it definitely isn’t filling.”

Robert turned the radio on as they drove, trying to distract himself from the movie. All things considered, it hadn’t been particularly scary, per se, but the whole premise, of people being not who they seemed to be, really freaked him out. The burger joint they pulled into was particularly popular with the high schoolers, simply because it was open all day every day. It certainly helped that the food they made was pretty good and their carhops delivered it straight to your window.

One of these car hops had red hair tied back with a white ribbon and seemed very at home on the roller skates as she came over to Frankie’s car. She withdrew a pad of paper and a pencil, “Alrighty, what can I get you boys?”

Robert was barely surprised when Frankie ordered for him, it was just something that he and Tommy did.

"Maybe next time you can choose the movie," Frankie suggested as they watched their waitress skate away.

"If Nicky and Tommy have any say that won't happen," Robert replied.

"Who says they have to come along?" Frankie asked, "I mean, if they're gonna be sour pusses about all that."

“Well, I guess if you’re offering,” said Robert, “I actually,” he paused and swallowed, hoping he wouldn’t get scoffed at, “I kind of prefer concerts.”

"Yeah? What kind of concerts?" Frankie asked.

"All sorts I guess," Bob shrugged, "back in New York we'd go to the symphony, and once we drove to Massachusetts because my dad wanted to see the Boston Pops."

"You're an odd one," Frankie smiled.

This made Robert blush. Since moving to New Jersey this was the closest he's ever gotten to fitting anywhere and this almost seemed like a fluke. Him? Robert Gaudio hanging out with those who were deemed cool by the rest of the student body? Even though it has been like this for awhile it still shocked him when he paused to think about it all.

"I don't mean that as a bad thing," Frankie added, "getting someone new around here has changed things up a bit, made life more exciting."

Robert didn't quite know how to respond to that, but luckily he was saved from doing so by the arrival of their food. Frankie, Robert noticed, had only gotten one large milkshake for the two of them.

"I guess I should have asked before but you don't mind sharing, do you?" Frankie asked.

"I, uh..." Robert stammered, "sure?" He shrugged, what else could he say?

"Enjoy your meal, boys," trilled the carhop, twirling her hair around her finger, obviously trying to get Frankie's attention.

Usually, Frankie would respond to that kind of flirting, but he didn't seem to notice this time. Once the girl realized this she pouted and skated away to the next car.

"That girl was flirting with you," Robert pointed out, not even sure why he was doing so.

"I know," replied Frankie, giving him a smile and swiping one of his French fries.

"Hey!" protested Robert with a laugh.

\---------------------

Frankie pulled the car up to Robert’s house and slid smoothly to a halt. All the lights were out and Robert knew that both of his parents would probably be asleep.

“I’ll walk you,” Frankie said as Robert stepped out of the car.

“Oh, you don’t have to--”

He was cut off by the car turning off and Robert waited until Frankie had rounded the car to begin strolling up the walk.

“I’ve had fun,” Robert blurt out, happy for the darkness of the night when he immediately blushed.

“Even though that movie nearly made you wet yourself,” Frankie teased.

“I wasn’t scared,” lied Robert unconvincingly.

“Whatever you say, Bobby.”

Robert nudged Frankie with his shoulder and the two broke into quiet chuckles. Too soon for Robert’s taste they had reached the front door. They stopped there and Robert rocked awkwardly on his toes a few times before he caught himself and stopped.

“So,” he said, fingers twisting together, “Thanks again. I mean back in New York I never really did anything like this. Nobody really liked me, I guess.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Frankie said with a grin.

Robert grinned in return and rubbed the back of his neck, “What I’m trying to say is that--”

The press of lips against his cheek caused him to pause and he stared and Frankie, who lowered himself off of his toes. For the first time Robert could remember, Frankie looked worried, almost scared. In all honesty, Robert thought that it was absolutely adorable. Frankie looked ready to run or apologize or do something else ridiculously stupid, so Robert leaned down to place his own kiss on Frankie’s cheek. Before his could straighten, Frankie grabbed Robert’s lapels and brought their mouths together. A shiver went down Robert’s spine and his eyes fluttered closed. It was chaste as kisses went, probably not the best Frankie had had in his life, but for Robert it felt like heaven. When they broke apart, he felt like he was floating on air and Frankie’s expression said that he felt much the same.

“So, was this a date?” Robert asked shyly.

Frankie smirked, “Yes, it was.”

“How did I not realize that?”

Rather than answering, Frankie pulled him down for another kiss.

“See you at school,” Frankie called over his shoulder as he walked down the path.

Robert watched until his car turned out of sight. He slipped into the house and closed the door softly behind him, falling against it with a sigh.

“Have fun?”

Robert jumped, startled. His mother was halfway down the stairs, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She didn’t look angry about his being home late, simply curious and sleepy.

“Yeah,” Robert smiled, remembering the feel of Frankie’s lips on his, “Definitely.”


End file.
